Ian Witlen for Miami New Times
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On Wednesday, New Times published an in-depth profile by staff writer Alex DeLuca of Braden Peters, the 20-year-old influencer better known online as “Clavicular.” The young streamer moved to Miami from his native New Jersey last year as the face of “looksmaxxing,” a once-niche internet subculture focused on radical physical self-transformation.
Since moving to South Florida, he’s drawn national headlines for allegedly hitting someone with his Tesla Cybertruck, partying in a Miami Beach nightclub to Kanye West’s antisemitic track “Heil Hitler,” and appearing in a video that showed him shooting an (apparently dead) alligator in the Everglades. In April, he overdosed on a livestream in full view of his audience. He’s since become nearly impossible to escape online, thanks to a sprawling ecosystem of clip accounts that slice his livestreams into viral moments for X, Instagram, and TikTok.
To trace Peters’ rise from a shy honor-roll kid to one of the internet’s most divisive personalities, New Times spoke with former classmates, business associates, and others in his orbit. We also spent a morning in the operating room during his rhinoplasty and an evening at Bacara, the Miami Beach nightclub he co-owned.
Here’s what that night looked like.

Ian Witlen for Miami New Times

Ian Witlen for Miami New Times

Ian Witlen for Miami New Times

Ian Witlen for Miami New Times

Ian Witlen for Miami New Times

Ian Witlen for Miami New Times

Ian Witlen for Miami New Times

Ian Witlen for Miami New Times

Ian Witlen for Miami New Times

Ian Witlen for Miami New Times